Alan Brazil spills the beans after 'going AWOL' for talkSPORT show at Cheltenham Festival
Radio legend Chris Evans stepped in for Alan Brazil on Friday morning, as the former Manchester United and Tottenham striker was absent for his 6am-10am breakfast show
Alan Brazil has denied claims that he missed his talkSPORT breakfast show on Friday because he enjoyed an all-day bender at the Cheltenham Festival.
The ex-Manchester United and Tottenham forward was absent from Friday morning's broadcast, forcing radio legend Chris Evans to step in. Brazil, 64, had been supposed to present the build-up to Cheltenham's Gold Cup day from 6am to 10am and listeners soon speculated that his absence was alcohol-related.
But the former Scotland international has scoffed at those suggestions, listing four others reasons as to why he missed work. They included him being too tired after a long week, having a bad knee, a bad chest, and also catching a bug from meeting so many people during the horse racing festival.
"There was no massive drinks bender," Brazil told the Mail. "I was just tired after coming down here on Sunday. It's been a long week. Also my knee is playing up after a lot of walking about. There's a lot of walking about needs done here with so many people to meet."
READ MORE: Cheltenham Gold Cup 2024 result: Full finishing order - where did YOUR horse place?READ MORE: Cheltenham 2024: Ecstasy to agony for Harry Redknapp after being denied second Festival winThe 64-year-old reiterated: "All this drinking too much is a load of nonsense. I mean that, it's nonsense. It's got nothing to do with booze. I just had a few pints of Guinness yesterday with some great company. I'm fine, apart from this limp".
Brazil went on to praise those who covered in his absence, with talkSPORT reporter Shebahn Aherne joining Evans. "They were fine on the show this morning," he added. "Shebahn is good. She got her big chance, so that was good. So respect. I love all that."
An apology to his bosses also wasn't needed, according to Brazil, who affirmed: "It's not bad publicity. I missed a day and it is my fault. I don't have to say sorry to the bosses. I'm not saying I'm too big for that (saying sorry). I'm not too big to say sorry to the bosses."
Ahead of Friday's Gold Cup, Brazil was well enough to be interviewed by a talkSPORT colleague and further explained: "Listen, I was just cream crackered, really, really tired. You might say I've overdone it, but we did come down Sunday. Normally, I just do Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, but this week it was Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday.
"There were some fancy odds with the bookies that I would miss Friday, and when you do your money in the first couple of days you've got to get it back, so I backed myself not to do the show today! I heard them today, slagging me off on the radio - don't worry about that. I thought Shebahn did a great job as well."
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